It Had to Be You
by roswellwbfan
Summary: On Hiatus... DHr Draco and Hermione plan to team up for the unity project. Will they be able to act civil, or will their differences lead to disaster?
1. Chapter One

Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoy this story. I'm doing my best to not stray too far into OOC country. As with every other fic on this site reading and reviewing is always appreciated. If you've read my other fics you know I always thank my reviewers so join their ranks and I'll thank you, too!

Disclainer: Surprise! I don't own the characters! Bet you didn't see that one coming!

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Professor Snape slammed the classroom door behind him as he entered, paying no attention to the startled jumps of his students. He stalked angrily to the front of the room, his robes billowing around him with the force of his stride. He pivoted and faced his Potions class; the majority of students had near-identical looks of terror on their faces. He snarled at them and began speaking without preamble.

"Well class I have some news." He looked around, gauging their level of attentiveness although such a move was hardly necessary. He rolled his eyes and muttered to himself something that sounded suspiciously like "Why me?" before settling his gaze on The Gryffindor Trio for a long moment. Before they could begin to guess his intentions he looked over at the table that contained the most notorious Slytherins—namely, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. Casting his glance downward for the barest of moments and shaking his head he suddenly straightened himself up and clasped his hands behind his back.

"It seems that Professor Dumbledore has decided that with _things_ being the way they are it is necessary to focus on strengthening the unity of Hogwarts students." 

No one needed to ask what "things" Snape was referring to. After Voldemort's return and subsequent ass-kicking by Harry once again the whole wizarding world was in turmoil. People were scrambling to get the facts of the encounter. How powerful was Voldemort? What sort of a threat was he? Was he really back or was it as Minister Fudge had implied—that Harry was unstable and had hallucinated the whole episode? Many seemed loath to have to finally declare their loyalty to one side or another.

The students at Hogwarts felt the same ambiguity that rippled through the rest of the community. Many students who had openly commented in favor of Voldemort's position were keeping strangely silent. They were waiting for word from their parents; specifically whether or not those who were Death Eaters were still within Voldemort's good graces or if his displeasure extended to revenge on those he felt were unfaithful. It was a tenuous time for all.

"Thus he has proposed an exercise to improve House relations. It is a project that will give each participant 100 points to their respective House as well as the possibility of half a letter grade extra credit in up to three classes."

At this statement excited whispers broke out amongst the students. 100 points was not something to be taken lightly and the extra credit offered was tantalizing, to say the least.

"Silence!" Professor Snape bellowed, effectively silencing the chatter.

"The first part of the project is as follows. You will be expected to pair off under the condition that no pair can contain two people from the same House." Here he glared meaningfully at the Gryffindor Trio.

"Secondly, you and your partner will decide what the project is to entail. Each pair will be required to submit a proposal indicating their plan for improving relations by the end of the week."

A sea of stunned faces met this declaration.

"A few guidelines have been put in place to help you when deciding upon what elements to include in your proposal. It cannot be dangerous to yourself, your fellow students or anyone else. It cannot be something that would require you to skip any classes to accomplish. It cannot require the use of magic as a primary tool. And finally…" 

Here he broke off and actually smiled at them although it came out as more of a smirk as though he were relishing the revelation of the final detail. Indeed he waited until he could see that more than one student was about to fall off of their chair from leaning forward to catch what he would say before continuing.

"It must last for three months. The time period begins next Monday and will end on the night of a special Unity Ball that will be held in honor of the efforts of the successful participants."

"What?!" This outburst came from Draco Malfoy.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy? You have a question?" Snape drawled. He seemed slightly amused by Draco's outburst; it was definitely not the reaction any other student would have been likely to get.

Draco just sat in his seat and didn't respond, too shaken to speak any more.

"Well, seeing as there aren't any questions we'll move on. Everyone take note; today we will be learning about the properties of thistle, lavender and pussy willow."

It was a miracle that anyone was able to take notes at all, let alone pay attention after that announcement. In truth only two students managed to actually take decent notes while everyone else just feigned attention. 

One of those two students was Hermione Granger and it was much later on that evening after dinner that she could be found in one of her favorite places…the library. She had gone to look up some additional facts on the Potions topic of the day to supplement her notes.

Every other class after Potions had been spent much the same way: students chatting noisily with each other and the professors about the unity project, as it was now being called. So thankfully Hermione hadn't needed to worry about failing to pay 100% attention like she did in Potions.

Once she was satisfied with her notes Hermione set her attention on the next problem at hand, namely the unity project. She wanted those extra credit points so badly she could almost taste them. But the parameters of the project had her at a loss. Who could she pair up with? Maybe one of the Ravenclaw girls or one from Hufflepuff? After debating the matter for a solid ten minutes she decided to go and find Harry and Ron. With any luck they had found their partners and could help direct her to someone.

The next day at breakfast Draco Malfoy was lost in thought while eating. He wanted those house points so badly he could almost taste them. But what was the deal with the pairings? Why couldn't he have a fellow Slytherin help him? He shook his head and resumed eating. He tried to find the bright side of this project and decided that at least he wouldn't have to worry about making up an excuse for Pansy as to why they couldn't work together. He supposed he should be grateful for small favors. But if all the Slytherins were out then who would be his partner? He glanced around the Great Hall at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, trying to decide who would measure up. Realizing that he only had a short while before his classes began he decided to just wait and see who would ask him to be their partner before committing to the project at all.

"Professor McGonagall?" Hermione raced to catch up with her Head of House after breakfast.

"Yes, Miss Granger? What can I do for you?" She slowed her steps and waited for Hermione to catch up with her.

"About the unity project. I was just wondering what format the proposal needed to take?"

"Yes of course. Well I assume Professor Dumbledore will tell you all at dinner this evening but I suppose it can't hurt for you to know now. Your proposal will be an oral report in front of a committee of professors."

"Oh. All right. Thank you, Professor."

Hermione smiled and headed off to her class at a brisk walk which turned into a full sprint as soon as she was out of Professor McGonagall's line of sight. Her worries eased marginally as she entered her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. At least she didn't need to worry about writing a huge report this weekend.

At lunchtime Hermione wedged herself between Harry and Ron who had already begun to shovel food into their mouths with an astounding rapidity. They smiled and made more room for her.

"So have you guys found partners yet?"

Harry swallowed and turned his full attention on her.

"Hermione it's only been what, like 10 hours since the last time you asked us?"


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Notes: I thought about waiting until I had some more reviews but then I figured that wasn't very nice. If I have it done I should post it, right?

Disclaimer: Still no ownership of the characters. Check back with me after this week's lottery drawing, though.

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She blushed but persevered in her questioning.

"Okay okay. You have a point. But do you at least have an idea of what your project is going to be?"

This time it was Ron's turn to gulp down his food and respond.

"Well actually we did talk a little about it during Divination…"

"Why am I not surprised?" she interrupted to tease him.

"I know but I swear we understand more and more why you aren't in that class. Really, if she predicts Harry's death one more time I'm going to stop going. Anyway…" he hastily returned to the subject at hand when he saw Hermione shoot him one of her looks that meant she was getting impatient. "We thought that maybe we could pair up with some of the guys from the other houses and all of us could form an inter-house Quidditch team and maybe play the season that way."

It was so typical of Harry and Ron to think of something related to Quidditch but she had to admit that the idea was a good one and she said as much.

"Really?" Harry asked her with a wide-eyed smile. "I guess it _is_ a good idea, Ron. I mean if Hermione approves that has to mean something, right?"

She blushed as they teased her but she felt good knowing that her opinion really did matter to them. Her smile faded slightly as she realized that while Ron and Harry were well on their way she was still sans a partner or a project idea. Maybe if she heard what everyone else was doing she would get struck by some inspiration. She spent the rest of the day asking her fellow Gryffindors what their plans were during and in-between classes.

Draco left Slytherin House in a foul mood. He hadn't been asked to be partners with anyone yet…well anyone who actually was interested in the project and not in using the unity project as a flimsy excuse to work in some quality snog time with him. As he strode into the hallway leading to the Great Hall he cursed his uncanny appeal to the opposite sex for the first time in memory. 

After dinner he made his way to the library in a desperate attempt to avoid yet another ambush by some female pretending to want him as a partner in this project and nothing more. He figured that no one would look for him in the library for a while. As he entered the study area he thought he heard his name being called and turned around while walking. It was this lack of attention that caused him to almost run into someone, namely one Miss Hermione Granger.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on whose point of view you were considering) she was paying attention and put out an arm to stop him. He collided with it and whirled around to see who had dared to touch him without an invitation. He scowled when he saw who it was.

"Granger." He growled at her. "What the hell do you think you're doing touching me?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh please Malfoy. You're such a stupid git. If you had been looking where you were going I wouldn't have had to touch you at all. But since you weren't I had to stop you from barreling into me."

"Whatever." He brushed past her and went into the stacks to find a book to distract him while he waited for enough time to pass that he could safely try to make his way back to his room without being accosted.

He sat down at the nearest table and proceeded to open the book. The sound of a feminine sneeze caused his head to jerk upright in anger. Who had followed him? He nearly groaned aloud as he saw that it was Hermione. She was a table away and sat facing him with a weird smile on her face. Her gaze locked on his in an open challenge.

She was daring him to move now that he realized that he was sitting so close to her. He saw the evidence of a prolonged study session and recognized that she had been there before he came in. More likely than not she had seen him sit down without looking. He knew he should have checked out the seating arrangements before he sat down…this damn project had shot his concentration to hell. But his pride wouldn't let him switch seats. He simply raised an eyebrow at her and turned his attention back to his book.

It felt like an eternity for both of them. They both breathed identical sighs of relief when they heard Madame Prince announce that it was closing time. Although neither would admit it they had been waiting the other out in a weird battle of wills to see who would be the first to leave.

Their desire to not be seen as the one who was running away led to them walking practically side by side as they left the library.

They parted ways in silence and made their way to their dorms where they both struggled to get to sleep. Hermione decided to worry about the unity project later and she fell asleep after a long while.

Draco wasn't so lucky. He had come to the conclusion that he needed to get more proactive in this search for a suitable partner. So what was he looking for? Someone who cared about the project as much as he did. Someone who was from a different House. So who did he know who would want the House Points and the extra credit? Who cared about their House and would be willing to do whatever it took to get the points? Who worried about their grades enough to ensure that they would get the extra credit, no matter what the cost?

He suddenly sat upright in his bed, clutching his chest as if he were having a heart attack.

It had to be her. 

Granger.

He protested automatically but his mind wouldn't let go of the idea once it had taken root. She fit all of the requirements on paper. She was from a different House. She cared about her House with that insane Gryffindor pride of hers. And there was no mistaking her obsession with her grades. Yes, she would be perfect. Except for that rather large problem wherein neither of them could stand to be around the other for a prolonged period of time without violence ensuing.

He groaned and flipped over in bed. He had the sinking feeling his life was about to get more complicated than he ever imagined. He fell into an uneasy sleep, dreading the day to come.

Thursday morning found both Hermione and Draco in equally bad tempers. Draco had tossed and turned all night and Hermione had been plagued by nightmares of Slytherin winning the House Cup because of her failure to get the points from the unity project.

Their eyes briefly met at breakfast and he scowled at her. She simply broke the contact and went about her life. Malfoy giving her angry looks was a part of her day and she didn't even dwell on it anymore. Besides, she still had yet to find a suitable partner for the stupid project.

By the end of the day neither of them had been able to come up with someone else. Of course Hermione hadn't even considered Malfoy. 

At least not yet. 

He was stomping around his room, trying to think of someone else, anyone else. But he couldn't and finally at 11:00 he gave up trying and decided to go find Hermione. He determined the best way to go was by air. If he appeared to never leave his room so much the better as far as he was concerned. He took his broom out of the closet and took off out of his window. Wasting no time he sped over to the Gryffindor dorm and proceeded to look into the windows, trying to find Hermione's room. After what felt like a lifetime he finally found her. She was laying in bed reading.

"What a shock," he thought to himself. He realized he was about to scare her half to death and he smiled for the first time that day.

The knock on her window indeed scared her half to death and she jumped, reaching for her wand in the next instant. When she got up and looked out she almost fainted when she saw who it was.


	3. Chapter Three

Author's Notes & Disclaimer: At the bottom as per usual for one of my fics

"Malfoy?"

"Way to state the obvious, Granger."

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I came to talk to you."

"Me?"

"I don't stutter, Granger. Yes you."

She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"So talk already."

"Not here. It's too risky. Someone could see me hovering out here."

She rolled her eyes.

"What is this about, Malfoy? Why should I want to talk to you?"

"It's about the unity project. Meet me in the kitchens in 15 minutes." And without another word he zoomed off. Hermione ran to the window, intent on telling him to shove off but he was already out of sight.

What could he possibly have to tell her about the unity project? It was too bizarre that he had appeared at her window in the first place. She shouldn't go—that much was certain. But she was curious. And what if it was something dangerous? If Malfoy had something planned didn't she owe it to the rest of the participants to try and find out what it was and stop him?

She was still thinking thoughts of this nature when she arrived at the kitchens 20 minutes later. The house-elves were delighted with the late night visit and set out a multitude of snacks and hot chocolate for them before retiring to a back room. Hermione and Draco waited in silence until they were gone.

"You're late," was his greeting.

"Oh I'm so sorry your majesty. I was so honored to get a royal summons that it took me twice as long to get here as I found myself needing to stop and pinch myself every five minutes. I was so sure it was a beautiful dream, you see." Her words dripped with acid.

"Whatever, Granger. Look, we need to talk."

"So I gathered. What is it?"

"It's about the unity project."

"I saw you twenty minutes ago, not years Malfoy. I am capable of remembering that far back."

"You don't have a partner." He stated.

For a moment all she could do was stare at him. Why had this possibility not occurred to her? If it had she was sure she would not be sitting here.

"Oh god. This is what this is about? You got me out of bed to taunt me about it? You couldn't wait until tomorrow to give me a hard time?"

She got up, clearly intent on leaving but before she could his hand reached out and snaked around her wrist. She was about to insist that he release her immediately but his words stopped that thought as well as the one about leaving.

"I don't have a partner either."

Hermione collapsed back onto the bench and Draco let go of her, convinced she was going to stay.

"You can't be serious." She said after a long pause. He quirked his eyebrow at her. "You can't be suggesting that **_we_** work together?"

"Give the girl a cookie. That's exactly what I'm saying."

She did in fact reach down to pick up a cookie and began nibbling on it.

"So?" he practically shouted in his impatience.

"Why me, Malfoy? Surely you had plenty of offers."

He shrugged his shoulder off-handedly. Hermione shook her head.

"Oh no. You're going to have to do a lot better than that."

"God, Granger. Are you always this difficult?" He got up and began to pace. She merely raised her eyebrows and took another bite of her cookie. As he thought out what he was going to say Hermione took the opportunity to question herself.

What exactly was she doing here? Was she actually _trying to get Malfoy to convince her to work with him? It was insanity to even be thinking of working together!_

"Yes, I had other offers. But none of them were suitable."

As explanations went it was incredibly lame.

"Yeah, that clears things up. Good job. I'm leaving."

"What do you want me to say?" he exploded.

"What makes me suitable?" she shouted back.

"Aauugghh!! Fine! The other offers I had were ones that involved dark rooms and snogging and I wasn't interested. Are you happy?"

"What does that have to do with me?"

Draco seriously doubted the wisdom of this whole debacle. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Were those damn House points worth this aggravation? Yes or no? He had to decide in an instant or else she was really going to leave. 

It was yes.

"I want a partner who cares about getting the House Points and the extra credit as much as I do. **You** care about the House Points." He said it like an accusation. "And I _know you care about the extra credit, probably even more than I do."_

His words tumbled around in her mind. She let the thought of her and Malfoy working on a project together actually take root in her brain. What were the reasons they shouldn't? For starters they hated each other with the fire of a thousand suns. That seemed to be the most compelling reason. Then of course there were Ron and Harry's reactions to consider. But depending on the scope of the project she could handle them. She could use the reasons Malfoy had just given her for her argument to them.

Oh lord! She was already justifying the decision like it was made! 

"Okay girl, slow down," she told herself, "Let's assume for a minute that you actually agree to this nutcase's idea. What would be the benefits?"

She pondered that thought seriously. 

Well there was the obvious in the form of the House Points and the extra credit. Then there were the other intangibles like being role models. Maybe they really could affect change?

"If we don't kill each other first," she reminded herself. _But you've been sitting here for a while now and aside from some harsh words you've been borderline civil to each other, the part of her brain that was thinking of the positives pointed out. _

She laughed aloud at that thought.

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Disclaimer: Well my Magic 8 Ball told me to check back later so as of this moment I own nothing, sadly.

Author's Notes: Thank you portion:

Legaloslover: How funny that you said that…because it's true. I re-read it and within moments of posting it I changed the genres and then I read your review which made me think I did the right thing. I will switch it to romance first once the romance actually happens. Thank you for being willing to read and be constructive…I appreciate it. Just a weird side note:  why'd you spell Legolas' name wrong?

Venus Smurf: I adore you, you know that, right? I almost passed out when I saw that you had reviewed this story! I am humbled that you would consider it! Thank you so much for your show of support. I really hope this story become as rich as it is already in my head. You are just so amazing and anytime I read one of your reviews I just get sunny, so thank you, thank you, thank you. Hope the spring break goes well!


	4. Chapter Four

"What are you laughing at, Granger?" Malfoy was irritated. He wasn't used to waiting and he found he had a short supply of patience.

"I was just thinking that this was the longest we've gone without trying to inflict bodily harm on each other. Are you sure you're feeling well?"

He was so relieved that she seemed to be on the verge of agreeing that he decided to go against his nature and go along with her teasing.

"Hmm, I could always correct that." He made a move as if he was going to attack her but she just swatted his arm away, laughing.

"Stop fooling around, Malfoy. We need to work together if we're going to come up with an idea."

"Maybe I do have a fever," he said, placing his hand to his forehead in a dramatic gesture, "At least that's the excuse I'm going to use if anyone walks in here and sees us not killing each other."

Hermione's eyes bugged out and she shot out of her seat like a cannon.

"That's it! Malfoy you're bloody brilliant!"

"I am? I mean I am." He corrected himself but Hermione wasn't paying attention. She had begun to pace around the room.

"What are you doing, Granger?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm pacing to help me think. Now there are some definite things that we could incorporate…hmmm, but is it too easy?" she lapsed into silence and finally Draco couldn't stand it.

"Bloody hell, Granger. What are you talking about?"

"Our proposal. It's perfect."

"And what's so perfect about it?" he asked, annoyed that he wasn't on the same page as she was.

"Us."

His eyes widened and he took an involuntary step back.

"There is no 'us', Granger."

"Oh sod off Malfoy. You really do think you're God's gift, don't you?"

"And who says I'm not?" he replied in an offended tone.

"Whatever. We need to work out the details of this plan."

"What plan?"

She sighed. Apparently she was the only one the lightbulb had come on for.

"Don't you get it, Malfoy? The plan is for you and me to act civil towards each other."

He took another step back and she nearly laughed out loud at his horrified expression.

"What?!"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Can you think of something better? It's perfect. We act all truce-like in front of everyone and make a show of inter-house camaraderie and bam! We have the points and the extra credit."

The horrified look left his face to be replaced by a thoughtful expression.

"I don't know, Granger."

"Can you think of two less likely people to pair up for this assignment besides of course you and Harry or Ron? No one will be able to believe that we've called a truce."

He shuddered at the mention of Harry and Ron.

"What are Potter and Weasley doing for their project, anyway?"

When she told him he announced that maybe he would just go along with that idea. It sounded better than calling a cease-fire with Hermione, no matter how temporary.

"Okay," she said, seemingly unaffected. "I must admit I'm surprised you would say that."

He narrowed his eyes at her, completely suspicious.

"Why is that?"

"Oh." She shrugged her shoulders. "I just never thought you'd go along with an idea Harry and Ron thought up. Especially since everyone knows about it already there's no way for you to take credit. I guess it just doesn't seem like you to not do something you thought of."

Damn her. She was right, of course. How had he failed to appreciate that aspect of his announcement? He searched for a way to make Hermione as uncomfortable with this whole truce idea as he was. He smiled slyly as it occurred to him.

"You're right, Granger."

She didn't like the look on his face and was immediately wary.

"About what, specifically?"

"No one will be able to believe we've called a truce. Unless…" he trailed off, baiting her.

"Unless what?" she asked, annoyance evident in her tone.

"Well we can't just do this halfway. To make an impact sometimes you have to be willing to go to extremes. Are you sure you can do that?"

She tensed up at the challenging question.

"Of course I can. What did you have in mind?"

"You would have to publicly apologize for smacking me third year." He said with a triumphant grin. Her mouth dropped open but she quickly clamped it shut as her mind whirred.

"Fine. But only if you publicly apologize for calling me a mudblood. And after that you have to shake hands with me to show there are no hard feelings." She retorted with a grin of her own. 

The smile left his face as realized that this meant war. Now they were both set on making a suggestion the other wasn't willing to consent to.

"You have to sit by me in any class we have together to demonstrate our newfound loyalty to this project…if not each other." He announced with a challenging gaze.

"We study together at the same table in the library three times a week." She stated without missing a beat.

"We eat dinner together the nights we don't study together." He declared with a smirk.

She paused, trying to think of something to wipe that condescending grin off his face. Her smile caused his to disappear before her words did.

"We go to the Unity Ball together."

Damn her. She was quick. The thought of going to the ball together galled him but he couldn't cave in. The expression on her face clearly told him she thought she had won. He struggled to find another condition that would place him on top. The light went on for him and he smiled at her. A smile that terrified her.

"We walk into the dance holding hands."

"Good god, Malfoy! Everyone's going to think we're a couple if we do that! Why don't we increase all the speculation by leaps and bounds before then and just live together?!"

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Disclaimer: The I Ching wasn't much more helpful in my quest to obtain rights to the characters, darn it all.

Author's note: Hi there! Thanks for reading! You're terrific.


	5. Chapter Five

She clapped a hand over her mouth but it was too late. The words were out. Thankfully Draco seemed as disturbed by the thought as she was.

"Of course we couldn't do that. It's not possible." She hastened to reassure both of them.

"Right. It would never happen. Still…" he paused and seemed to be debating something.

"What is it, Malfoy?"

He locked gazes with her and shrugged as if it weren't important.

"Well I was just thinking that it might be a good thing to use in our report anyway."

"What?! Are you insane?"

"Obviously. I'm still here with _you, aren't I?" _

He took a step closer to her as he tried to convince her of his reasoning. 

"Think about it. We tell Dumbledore and the other professors the other provisions of our proposal and then we say something about how it's a shame that we can't do more to show an increase in solidarity like live together."

She looked away from him and seemed to be considering his words carefully.

"I don't know, Malfoy."

"Let's face it, Granger. We're going to be a hard sell as it is. No one is going to believe that we suddenly decided to play nice for any reason other than this project…especially Dumbledore. We need every advantage we can if we're going to win. So if we say that we're willing to go the extra mile to improve relations by doing something really above and beyond like living together then maybe he'll be convinced enough to give us the points."

He did have a point, she conceded grudgingly. Never mind that it was _her_ point. No one was going to believe this at all. They needed as many aces in the hole as they could get.

"And the extra credit." She added. 

"Right."

"There's no way this can backfire on us, right?" Hermione asked.

"None. So what do you say, Granger? Are you ready to go talk to Dumbledore?"

She sipped her hot chocolate and took a bite of another cookie.

"I don't know. What about our friends?"

He furrowed his brow.

"What about them?" he asked.

"Well we're worrying about Dumbledore and the rest of the faculty being okay with this whole arrangement but what about our friends? I mean if we're together that much we're bound to have to interact with each other's friends."

"So what?" He didn't really see a problem. He could ignore Potter and Weasley anytime he had to be around them or else he could taunt them, knowing it was bound to goad them knowing he was spending time with Hermione. He failed to see a downside.

"We can't just ignore each other's friends or act nasty to them, either."

_When did Granger become psychic?_

"Why the hell not?"

She sighed and dunked her cookie in her hot chocolate. Taking a bite she waited until she had swallowed before speaking.

"It would defeat the whole purpose of the project, Malfoy. We're supposed to be bringing the Houses together and yet we only act civil to each other? If we don't at least try to be tolerant of each other's friends it's going to get back to the committee and we'll lose for sure."

He hadn't thought about that aspect of it.

"So do you think you can handle it?" she asked without any malice, only genuine curiosity. "Could you be sitting at the same table with me at dinner and stand up to someone who calls me a…a… mudblood?"

He didn't even blink. He just shot his reply back at her.

"Could you stand up to anyone who thinks you're in this to fulfill your secret crush on me?"

She laughed and then realized he was serious.

"Oh. You were serious?"

"Face it, Granger. Some people are going to draw that conclusion."

She rolled her eyes.

"Although I highly doubt I'll be placed in that position I am confident I can handle it."

"Well I can handle dealing with your friends for the next three months."

That's right, it was only three months. Surely she could deal with anything that happened for three months? _Unless…_

"Oh no, Malfoy! I just thought of something horrible!"

"Well what is it?"

"What if we go through with the whole thing and then after the ball everyone goes back to the way they were and Dumbledore decides that it didn't work and takes away the House Points and the extra credit?"

"He can't do that!" He was clearly panicked by the thought.

"Of course he can! He's the Headmaster!"

He was beginning to appreciate the merits of having Hermione as his partner before they even got started. She clearly was paranoid enough for the both of them and consequently came up with every possible disaster scenario there was. Of course if your best friend was The Boy Who Lived to Piss Off Draco Malfoy then chances were probably better than average that you would quickly develop a healthy fear of the unknown and thus question everything. 

So what could they do about this little glitch? He admitted to himself that there was more than one part of this whole fiasco that he hadn't thought out as well as he could have. The simplest answer came to him quickly and he decided it was the best course of action.

"Well we'll just have to ask him, then!"

"What?!" Hermione was clearly aghast at the thought of challenging a professor while Draco seemed to regain his confidence with this thought.

"It's simple. We ask him if we are to be held accountable for things reverting to the way they had been prior to the start of this whole asinine project."

She smiled a little at Malfoy's description.

"It _would_ be rather unfair for us to have to be responsible for everyone else's behavior, right?" she asked him.

"Of course it would be." He looked indignant at the thought.

"So…" she seemed to be considering something. "If I talk to Harry and Ron and let them know what the plan is and you talk to your friends and we get the committee's approval to carry out the project then…"

"Then come Monday morning it's going to be a whole new ballgame."

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Disclaimer: Nothing to see here, folks. Move it along. No ownership of characters here. 

Author's Notes: Sorry that the chapters are a little brief…I am trying to remedy that! Thank you for reading and reviewing, and even just reading. You are terrific.

Mme Plot Bunnie—I am so pleased that I was able to make you laugh! I crack up as I write the interactions between D/Hr and it feels good to know I don't laugh alone. Thanks for taking the time to write.

Jessabel—You are so nice! Thanks for the lovely compliment. Most D/Hr stories (yes, even my own) crack me up b/c they have so much potential chemistry. Thank you for writing, I appreciate it!

Francesca—I just love the fact that I have some reviews from my WONDERFUL reviewers of my FG fic…like you! I am pleased that you found this story and even more excited that you like it! I will try to ensure that FG doesn't get neglected as I continue to balance both stories. Thank you for reading and reviewing both…you really are the best.


	6. Chapter Six

She sat quietly for a moment after his declaration, taking in their whole conversation. She began to think about everything that could go wrong, and there were plenty of what-ifs to consider.

What if she couldn't convince Harry and Ron to go along with the plan and play nice with Malfoy?

What if they couldn't convince the committee to approve their project?

What if something more horrible happened? Something that her tired brain couldn't think of right now?

What if they couldn't put up with each other for the whole three months?

It was this last speculation that caused her the most worry. Sure, they had been sitting here together in relative harmony for the past half an hour or so but this was hardly a success story. They were in private, away from everyone else and no one knew they were even talking. Malfoy was right about one thing, she admitted, it would indeed be a whole new ballgame if they were able to pull this sort of thing off in front of everyone.

Suddenly she wasn't so sure this was a good idea. And then it occurred to her that Malfoy hadn't gotten a chance to say what he had wanted this project to entail before she had jumped in. Maybe his idea was better. Well okay, maybe better was stretching it but perhaps his had the redeeming quality of not requiring them to spend quite so much time with each other.

She realized that she needed to hear what his idea was before agreeing whole heartedly with the option they had before them.

Draco watched the emotions flit across Hermione's features. Normally he would have been insulted that someone could tune him out so effectively but he recognized his own fears in her face. He thought about the same what-if s that she did and was also unable to find any reassurance. 

"What was your idea?" she broke into his thoughts.

His looked at her hard for a moment, waiting for his brain to process what she had said. When it did it still made no sense.

"My idea for what?" he responded with a confused look that at any other time Hermione would have found quite humorous.

"Your idea for the project," she told him. "What were you going to suggest we do when I first came down here?"

His mind went blank. What had _his idea been? Why did she assume he had one in the first place? _

_Probably because you sought her out, genius.__ His mind mocked him._

She's scared of following through with the idea we came up with, he realized. At any other time it was a sure bet that he would tease her mercilessly about such a revelation but right now he was just as apprehensive about the whole thing. 

As he struggled to come up with another idea he discovered that he felt more than a small tinge of pride in her assumption that he would come up with a suggestion. She didn't assume he was stupid. She believed that he would pull his own weight. It was somewhat of a novelty for him.

Most people were so scared of him (or his reputation, or of his father, or of his family's connection to the Dark Lord—_and the list goes on, his mind taunted) that when they found themselves as his partner they automatically did all of the work, assuming he wanted it that way. And for the most part he did. But there were times when he longed to challenge himself and show everyone what he was made of. The only time he came even close was Quidditch, and even then he had to deal with the rumors that he had bought his way onto the team._

Granger was presenting him with a terrific gift and she didn't even know it, he mused. She was giving him the chance to stand on his own. Granger was probably like this with everyone, he admitted. He could imagine that when people asked her for help with their homework that she pointed the way but made sure the person understood the material and could do it themselves. She didn't give anyone a free ride.

He shook his head at the direction his thoughts were taking and scowled. He was never touchy-feely and indeed prided himself on his aloofness and yet here he was, sitting in a kitchen after hours, drinking hot cocoa and thinking about nothing but his emotions. It was disgusting. 

Well, maybe that was too strong. It was disturbing. Yes, that was it. Before he ceased his internal exploration he gave in for a few moments more. While he would never go so far as to publicly announce these feelings he was grateful for them, and if he were being completely honest he was glad he had asked Granger to be his partner. Realizing that she was still waiting patiently for an answer he found that the answer was Granger herself.

"Well my first idea had been for us to combine our knowledge and offer to tutor people together," he said, unconsciously adopting ownership of both ideas on the table.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and thought about the suggestion. It was all right, not nearly as dramatic, but it would mean a lot of work for both of them. Before dismissing it out of hand she tried to be diplomatic.

"So how exactly would this work?"

Thankfully once the idea had occurred to him he had been thinking of exactly the answer she was searching for.

"Well the way I see it we would divide the classes we have together and accept responsibility for the ones we don't."

"Hmm," she mulled over the response and started calculating times and materials necessary. Then she picked up on something he had said.

"What classes don't we have together?"

"Oh. Well I don't know." Neither one of them had ever noticed when the other was absent from a class, only the opposite. So they took a moment to run down their list of classes and found they only had a few apart from each other.

"So you would handle anyone needing help with Divination." She stated.

"And you would handle anyone wanting help with Arithmancy." He replied.

"Uh-huh. Hey wait! We have that together. Why do I automatically get that one?" she whined.

"Probably because you have the top marks in that class." He sneered and she felt defensive.

"Yeah, well." As comebacks go it was pretty lame. Before she had the chance to think of a more suitable reply he spoke.

"Look Granger, it doesn't matter who would take what class anyway because that idea is not going to work."

She was stunned into silence. But not for long.

"And why not? What's wrong with it?"

He rolled his eyes and forced his hand through his hair. He heaved a great sigh and Hermione wondered what the problem was. He seemed loath to tell her.

"Because no one is going to want to be tutored by me when they could be tutored by you."

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Disclaimer: I. Do Not. Own. The. Characters. The End.

Author's Notes: You guys are the best! Thank you so much for your patience!

Mme Plot Bunnie—I'm so glad that you continue to find this humorous. Hopefully these couple of chapters will tickle your funny bone, even if just a little. Good question about the cookie thing. It may indeed come into play later but I admit it was originally introduced in large part by my conscious hunger for cookies when none were to be found. Thanks for doing that r&r thing! 

Venus Smurf—By the gods my days are made infinitely more enjoyable by your reviews! I'm so glad that you enjoy the plot of this one! Sorry that I haven't made it through the weekend yet! Thank you so much for providing me with the best encouragement I have ever received. You are a writer's dream come true! 

aku-neko—Thank you so much! You are so sweet and I really appreciate you saying that! I hope that you do indeed enjoy these next couple of chapters as much as the first few!

tainted black—Wow! It's practically never that someone says I made their day! Thank you so much for saying that! I really appreciate you! You're terrific!

::enVy::--You have my gratitude for reading and reviewing so far…I hope the story gets better for you!

sgt pepper—I appreciate your comments! I am especially grateful that you find the premise to be creative, that means a lot to me! Thank you! Thank you!

Exlibris—Holy wow! It's rare for me to get such a serious review but I took it to heart. I hope these next few chapters come close to your expectations for the story! Thank you for holding me up to a standard! I will endeavor not to disappoint you! 


	7. Chapter Seven

It was the first genuine compliment he had ever paid her, even if Hermione suspected that he didn't realize it.

"Oh Malfoy that's not true."

He gave her a look that clearly told her not to mistake him for an idiot.

"Yes it is."

As she opened her mouth to protest he cut her off with both an upraised hand and his next sentence.

"And don't give me some crap about the classes we don't have together, either. There aren't enough to make it worth while. About the only thing that would make up for it would be to include flying lessons, and I don't see that happening."

She felt bad that he had this negative view of himself and tried to cheer him up.

"But if you offered flying lessons I'm sure you'd have tons of people want to accept."

He cracked a smile.

"I'm sure I would but somehow I don't think they'd have that particular horizontal activity in mind."

She blushed at his innuendo. 

"I could never do that."

He raised an eyebrow at that and his smile became wider.

"Oh I don't know, Granger. Enough alcohol, a complete lack of lighting, it could happen for you."

She turned even redder but refused to be baited.

"Ha ha. I obviously meant the flying thing you dolt."

It occurred to him that this was indeed an area where he excelled and she did not. In fact, he seemed to recall her only flying when it was absolutely necessary during class.

"That's right," he said softly, unaware that he was speaking aloud until he noticed her eyes on him, "You don't like flying much, do you?"

She tried to shrug it off but Draco could see that this was a sore spot, which confused him. If it were him he would be doing everything he could to try and direct the conversation away from an area in which he didn't shine. But she admitted outright that she didn't want to do it. And when he teased her she refused to give in to it, instead making sure he realized that she knew he was better at something. 

She was strange, that's for sure. And her strangeness was already beginning to rub off on him. At least that's what he told himself later when he replayed their entire conversation in his mind.

"No, I don't like flying much."

"Why not?" He was genuinely interested. Hermione picked up on this and it was the only reason she answered.

"I guess I never felt like I got the hang of it. Especially during class I felt like I needed more time to get my bearings and there was never enough."  
  


"So why didn't you keep trying after class?"

Again her cheeks flushed and she looked down at the table.

"I guess

"I guess we're back to square one and the original idea."

"No we're not."

"What's wrong with the first plan?"

"I don't think it'll work, that's why."

"Why the hell not?"

"For starters how about the fact we can't even call each other by our first names? For crying out loud! Oh that's going to look just great when we go in for the oral presentation…'Yes, Malfoy here is going to eat dinner with me.'" she said, gesturing to him angrily as she spoke.

"And what is your brilliant idea that will save us from having to do this?" he snarled, annoyed that once again she was right. He couldn't picture himself calling her anything but Granger.

"I don't have an idea, brilliant or otherwise. I never expected you to show up and ask me to be your partner. I'm afraid you caught me unprepared."

There she was, admitted her shortcomings again. Why did she keep doing that? he questioned.

"So what the hell do you want from me?" he retorted, fury evident in his tone.

Her features softened as she recognized that he could have stormed off long ago but instead had chosen to sit here and try to come up with a workable solution. He must really want those House Points, she thought. So what did she want from him? What would make this solution bearable? If only they had more time! Wait! That was it!

"A trial run." She announced with a triumphant smile.

"What? What are you babbling about, Granger?"

"We do speak the same language, Malfoy. Just what I said. A trial. A period of time wherein we interact in public and try not to kill each other."

It was of course the perfect solution, he thought with an irritated frown. Glancing at the clock he turned back to her with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Well in case you haven't noticed it is officially Friday. Time isn't something we have a lot of."

Following his gaze she was startled to see that it was after midnight.

"Well," she stalled, thinking quickly, "we'll just have to sign up to be the last group that presents on Sunday, that's all. That will give us all day tomorrow, well I guess today, actually. Then we'll have all day Saturday and Sunday until the presentation."

"How do I know that you'll still go along with this by the time the presentation rolls around?"

"I could ask the same of you," she bit back smartly. Seeing him roll his eyes she relented. "Fine, fine. We have to meet to decide what we're going to say anyway. So we'll meet an hour beforehand to finalize everything and if one of us doesn't show then we'll know."

"Fine. Whatever."

She became conscious of the fact that they were both guilty of adopting this "whatever" attitude far too much during the discussion. And it needed to stop now. It wasn't going to help them at all.

"No, not 'whatever', Malfoy. We really have to put an effort into this. If we go out of our way to ignore each other these next few days then we'll have an even harder time of it if the idea gets approved by the committee."

"So what do you want to do?" he sighed in defeat.

She considered for a moment before deciding on what she hoped was the wisest course of action.

"I think that we talk to our friends before lunch about everything and then meet afterwards and decide if we're willing to go through with it until Sunday."

"Why would we do that?"

"Well I think our friends will be the ones who make or break this project for us. I mean right now especially we would both choose our friends over this project. And if they cause a lot of trouble during the next few months then we may decide it's not worth it and give up. But if they support our decision then it will go a long way towards making the next few months bearable."

It made sense which annoyed Draco to no end.

"Fine." Seeing the look on Granger's face almost made him smile as it dawned on him that he had been using that word to answer her a lot. It was this amusement that made him keep talking.

"I agree, Granger. So can I go to bed now?"

He sounded like a petulant child and that amused Hermione.

"Yes. It sounds good to me. Let's go."

They made their way out of the kitchens and down the hallway as quickly and quietly as possible. When it came time for them to separate they broke off without a word until Hermione called out to Malfoy in a soft whisper.

"Goodnight, Draco."

Startled by her use of his first name he whirled around and stopped dead in his tracks. Seeing his astounded gaze made Hermione blush and duck her head for a moment before meeting his gaze and shrugging.

"Well I figured I should practice saying it, just in case."

She turned around and made her way down the hallway. His voice reached her before she had gone too far.

"Goodnight, Hermione."

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Disclaimer: To claim, or not to claim? That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to admit I don't own the characters or….heck. I don't own the characters. Not even close.

Author's note: Sorry about the extra marshmallowy fluff there on the end. Egads. Too many Skittles, not enough sleep. Thanks for reading folks. I appreciate it.


	8. Chapter Eight

As Hermione made her way past the Fat Lady and into the Gryffindor common room she was startled to see Harry, awake and apparently waiting for her. She quickly smiled at him as he stood up upon seeing her. He smiled and waved, putting down the Divination text he held in his hands onto his lap as he sat back down. She crossed the room and sat by him.

"Harry? What are you doing awake?"

"I could ask the same of you, Hermione. I was coming down here to get some extra studying in and I caught you sneaking out. So I decided to wait for you."

"Oh."

Harry studied her features as she struggled with her words, something she never did. He could tell she was in serious thinking mode from the way her forehead was all scrunched up. He decided to prod a little.

"So... do you want to tell me about where you were?"

Hermione looked up when Harry's voice reached her ears.

"What?" She waited a second until her brain processed what he had said and continued speaking just as Harry opened his mouth to repeat himself. "Well, yes, Harry. Yes, I do. It's just that, well, I can hardly believe what just happened."

"Are you alright?" he questioned, laying his hand on her arm. He then realized how foolish that must have sounded, not to mention it was a bit late to ask.

Hermione's smile told him she knew what he was thinking but being the type of friend she was she didn't comment on his slip.

"Yes, I'm fine, Harry. It's just that, well, I was in the kitchens with Malfoy." She breathed the sentence out in a rush. Harry was on his feet in a flash, wand at the ready.

"What? Did he threaten you? I'll kill him!" His voice had risen dangerously and Hermione quickly shushed him, appalled at the thought that her housemates would wake up and stumble in on their discussion. She grabbed his sleeve and tugged until he reluctantly sat down beside her again.

"This is clearly never going to work; I don't know why I bothered suggesting a trial run," she muttered as she dropped her head into her hands, a pose Harry recognized as one she adopted only when genuinely distressed about something. That fact alone made him soften his tone.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I just reacted to the sound of his name without hearing the rest of the story. I'm a stupid boy, please tell me the rest?"

If there was one thing that Hermione loved about Harry, it was his ability to apologize. He did it so freely and openly, without feeling ashamed of the quickness with which he usually delivered the words. She smiled and raised her head to face him.

"It's alright, Harry. I don't blame you; I've reacted like that and worse over the years."

He returned her smile and placed his book on the floor next to him and turned to face her fully, intent on giving her his undivided attention.

"So, start from the beginning. How did you come to be in the kitchen with the git?"

She smiled at him, knowing he was teasing her a little since "git" was usually the nicest way she referred to Malfoy…_Draco, her mind corrected. Remember?_

"Well I was reading in bed when I heard a tapping on my window. And it was Malfoy. He told me to meet him in the kitchens; he had to talk to me about the unity project."

"What did he want to say?"

"At first I thought he was teasing me about not having a partner," she put a hand on his arm when Harry went to draw his wand again, "but then I realized that he wanted _us_ to work together on it."

"What?! You can't be serious!" This time Hermione's hand couldn't stay Harry and he jumped up and stared down at her, incredulous. Hermione just pleaded with him using her eyes alone and he finally relented, sitting back down and putting his head between his knees for a moment. Hermione simply waited for him to get back to the place where he could listen to her. When he raised his head and looked at her again she continued speaking.

"Believe me, Harry, it was not something I expected either. So we talked about it and decided that our project could be him and I spending time together like friends would, simple as that."

"What do you mean, spending time together?"

"Well, think about it. Who is less likely to pair up together than me and Draco? Besides him with either you or Ron, that is."

He made a non-committal sound and shrugged, knowing that any verbal response was likely to get Hermione upset with him.

"So we agreed to study together, sit by each other in our classes, eat dinner together, go to the Unity Ball with each other…" she trailed off, the full impact of the amount of time she and Malfoy (_Draco_, her inner voice piped up, annoyed at the prospect of continually needing to remind Hermione of this fact for weeks to come) had agreed to spend together hitting her with a force that rendered her speechless. Just as Harry was about to make a sarcastic remark about the improbability of either Malfoy or Hermione surviving that much contact together Hermione continued speaking in a near whisper.

"Oh god, we can't do this. We can't be around each other that much!" Her voice started to rise. "What was I thinking, even agreeing to a trial run? This is absurd! This whole idea is nonsense! Clearly I have gone mad!"

She whirled on Harry, who hushed her before she could continue on her tirade.

"You're going to wake the others. What do you mean by trial run?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Somehow it seemed to make more sense when cookies and hot cocoa were involved," Upon seeing Harry's confused look she gave a small smile, "Never mind that. Anyway, I said that we had to tell our friends about the plan and then have a trial run, starting first thing in the morning and lasting until an hour before we had to give our report. That way, we'll know if there's any point in going ahead with it."

"While I'm glad you wanted to share this with me why did you tell Malfoy you had to?"

She shrugged.

"You and Ron have to support this or else I won't do it."

"What?" Harry was clearly aghast at the thought of being held responsible for Hermione implementing this idea.

"It's true, Harry. I would obviously choose you and Ron over Malfoy, I mean Draco, any day of the week. So if you guys aren't with me on this then there's no reason to put us all into such close contact for any period of time."

At any other time Hermione would have been amused by the look that crossed Harry's features. Now, she just waited for the outburst.

"First of all why are you calling him by his first name and secondly, why do we have to be involved at all? It's _your_ project."

"Because I'm not likely to convince the committee that we have a real shot at pulling this off if I only refer to him by his last name. And of course you and Ron are going to be involved, just as Crabbe and Goyle, and maybe Pansy, or whoever else he counts among his minions, will be expected to."

"But why?" Harry nearly whined in his frustration at the prospect of spending any time at all with the members of the Slytherin house.

"Harry, do you honestly think that we will have any chance at all of receiving the points if just Mal-Draco and I are civil to each other? This project is supposed to be about affecting change, about strengthening the relationships between people from every house. So how will it look if Draco and I can't even get our friends to hang out with us when we're together?"

Now it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes.

"Harry, I'm serious!" She took in his stance and sighed. "But I'm also your friend. And if even considering this is going to change that then tell me now and I'll drop it immediately. It's not worth considering if it's going to upset you."

Harry's expression changed instantly.

"Of course it wouldn't change that, Hermione. Don't even think that way. It'd take a lot more than Malfoy to change our friendship. I know you, Hermione. I know that these House Points mean a lot to you, and the extra credit points mean more. I just don't like the thought that you're going to be subjecting yourself to Malfoy's torture. I know that he gets to you, and I hate to think of you being hurt."

Hermione's features softened. Harry really was the sweetest, dearest friend she could ask for. And he played the role of white knight with an unconscious ease she found to be annoying at times, yes, but not at times like these. At a time like this Hermione just wanted to hug him close to her forever, knowing that her happiness meant so much to him.

"Well to tell you the truth I have my doubts, Harry," she laughed at his dubious expression, "of course I do. I'd be silly not to question this whole thing. But to tell you the truth I couldn't come up with a unity project, and I don't have a plan B right now."

Her expression became quizzical and then joyful, all in the space of a moment.

"But now I've got you to help me, Harry. So maybe between the two of us we can come up with another choice, and then I won't have to worry about telling Ron anything about this and I can…"

"Tell me anything about what?" Ron interrupted from the top of the stairway that led to the boys' dormitory, yawning as he did so. Hermione and Harry whirled around; Hermione's hands going to her mouth to cover the shriek that had threatened to emerge.

"Ron! What do you think you're doing, sneaking up on us like that? You scared us to death!" Hermione scolded in a loud whisper.

"I didn't mean to, honestly," Ron whispered back as he finished descending the stairs. He made his way to a nearby couch and plopped himself onto it, reaching back with one hand to cover himself with the blanket on the couch's back.

"So what won't you have to worry about telling me?" he questioned, yawning and shutting his eyes as he waited for Hermione's answer.

Hermione and Harry shared a look, with Harry shrugging his shoulders and gesturing to Ron. Hermione finally sighed and relented, knowing that the sooner she said something the sooner they could start thinking of a way out of this.

"I won't have to worry about your reaction when I tell you that I just spent the better part of an hour with Draco Malfoy in the kitchens discussing the possibility of our pairing together for the unity project."

Hermione stopped talking and looked at Ron, and then Harry. At first Ron just nodded, indicating that he'd heard what Hermione had said. Hermione was about to whisper something to Harry when Ron's eyes flew open, all traces of sleep having disappeared.

"_What_ did you just say?"

"I said that I was talking to Draco Malfoy about being partners for the unity project."

Ron was on his feet faster than Hermione could recall seeing him move before, the blanket tossed aside carelessly.

"I thought I was dreaming, hearing things." Harry took a step towards Ron, who held out a hand to stop him. "Wait! Maybe I am! Maybe I'm sleep walking and having a really horrible dream!"

After this declaration he ran to Hermione and grasped her shoulders.

"Hermione, is it really you? Am I dreaming?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Get off me, Ron. Now go sit down, we need to talk."

"Oh it's worse than I thought, it's a nightmare!"

Harry looked at Hermione and then went to sit by Ron, who had flopped back onto the couch and flung his arm over his eyes in despair. She sighed before going over to join the boys.

It was going to be a long night.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing, apparently not even a sense of time passing.

Author's note: So Book Five threw me for a loop with this story and now I have just seen PoA and decided that my story is already so AU that I can just feel good about it and get back to writing. Could my update be any slower? Nope, sure couldn't. At least it was less than two years. I'm trying to see the silver lining.

Reviewer thanks:

Hustler—Thank you very much! I appreciated your kind words and am glad that you do not find this plot overused.

Ocianne—I really, really enjoyed your review. Many people (myself admittedly one of them) cannot find the words to be constructive and I envy that talent in you. Yes, an IC Herm and Draco may never be this way, I readily admit that. Especially seeing where the books have gone I am really AU here. But your praise made my day and helped encourage me to go back to this, after I thought maybe there was no point. I'm curious who we both read, and shall have to look into it. So thank you for reviewing, I appreciate your comments. And yes, I shall repost the chapter with the missing dialogue as soon as I can, and review your stories as well!

RazbryButterfly—Hello! I'm so pleased that you enjoyed my setup, back over a year ago when you were thoughtful enough to review. I apologize that I didn't get more chapters of this or more than one of my FG posted. I am grateful to you for saying you understand the whole school first thing, it eased the guilt. And yes, I too am drawn to those who sport hair like Julian's (hello, Legolas!)

Lady Shadowlight—We shall soon see if they can not erupt into chaos and violence in public. I hope you'll be along for the ride, thanks for reviewing. 1-7.

rebecca89—If I have not already, I will read and review your fic as well. I am always happy to return the favor when asked so nicely.

RazbryButterfly—btw, does the edible insect happy dance, CRACKED ME UP!

Venus Smurf—Ah, my dearest reviewer! I am so pleased that I get to address you again. Yes, the thought of Draco smiling is creepy to the extreme. I admit to shivering when I imagined it. And you tickle me, you know that? I appreciate the offer of Skittles by the truckload, by the way. My sister and I became roommates this past summer and she is always on some diet or another so junk food is a highly desired commodity, as far as I am concerned at least. Thank you for once again providing the fuel I need to keep going in the form of your reviews.

Venus Smurf--Starts to do corny victory dance because highly admired author has finally updated and Venus Smurf is ecstaticRealizes that imaginary people are starting to give funny looks as corny victory dance continuesMore victory dance --I personally cannot get enough of your dances, and am humbled that I would cause them for you, so thanks for that. I'm glad you like the plot. I was worried that it wasn't being accepted and then I read a review such as yours and I am in the clouds, delirious that you enjoy it.

Chiquita—I am so sorry that you had to wait this long. Come back, if you can!

Madame Plot Bunnie—Yes, fluff in a D/H is pretty unavoidable. Still, I want to try and keep it to a minimum, and avoid as many clichés as I can.Thanks for checking in!

Dreamer—Well, we've started to see what Ron and Harry think, now what do you think?

Girl-Named-Belle—Thank you! Sorry it was so long in coming!

KEL-71E—Fantabulous? I like that word! Thank you for reviewing! Btw, I liked your quote about knowledge.

tainted black—Ah yes, the trial run. It should be a hoot! Thanks for your encouragement, and for checking back in more than once. I always like to see that!

Rage42—I am sorry that my update was nowhere near the near future, or soon, or any other word that implies speed.

Fire'N'Ice—I am so glad that you do not find yourself bothered by the fluff. I was worried and your review helped reassure me, so thank you for that! And reading all seven chappies in one fell swoop? Color me impressed.

Chiquita—I hope the chapters to come will rock your socks as well!

Zyzychyn—Thank you so much. I really enjoyed reading that you do not find Herm and Draco to be too OOC, because I really didn't intend them to be. But the way the books are going it's already AU for sure. Thanks for taking the time to read and review.

Anonymous—I'm so pleased you don't think I've over done any of the clichés we seem to read so often--"gorgeous Draco" or "Hermione miraculously stunning over night." And thank you for the constructive criticism. I value your input.


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